Business forms including self laminating wristbands are well known in the art, principally through the commercialization thereof by the assignee of the present invention who owns the rights to a number of issued patents on various different inventive designs and implementations thereof. Examples of such issued U.S. patents include: U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,933,993; 6,000,160; 6,067,739; 6,438,881; 6,510,634; 6,748,687; 7,017,293; 7,017,294; and 7,047,682; the disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference. Even more wristband designs and inventions are disclosed in co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/203,601, the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference. Many of these wristband inventions are presently being commercialized by the assignee hereof with great success in the US, with sales well in excess of millions of wristband forms annually.
The earliest design wristband disclosed in these US patent filings, representing the earliest design made and sold by the present assignee, is a self laminating wristband separable from a page sized business form and comprised generally of a paper imaging layer and a PET (polyester) laminating layer with both of said layers being of substantially the same length, with the PET (polyester) layer being about twice as wide for folding over and laminating the paper layer, and a pair of integrally formed tabs at the ends of the laminating layer for joining together and securing the wristband about the wearer's wrist. This wristband could be supplied alone in a sheetlet, or on a full size page along with a matrix of self adhering labels. A more detailed explanation of this design and its use is found in the patents identified above. This wristband design represents a significant improvement over the prior art and has met with great commercial success. Indeed, this wristband design remains a big seller today as noted above.
Later wristband designs were invented as shown in the patent filings mentioned above and even other patent filings, and also have achieved great commercial success. One such design includes an imaging area formed in a top layer of face stock, with a laminating layer adhered thereto, the laminating layer having a tail or strap portion extending to one side with a patch of adhesive at its end for insertion through a cinch slot formed opposite the strap and doubling back over itself to secure it about the wearer's wrist. With this wristband design a narrower, single layer strap is provided to achieve greater comfort, and it is believed that a more secure attachment is made with the mechanical interlocking of the strap with the cinch slot.
Yet another wristband design is similar to the second design with the difference being that instead of a single strap, a pair of straps are provided with one strap extending from each side of the laminated imaging area. In this design, the imaging area is more or less centrally positioned, and the wristband when worn resembles a wristwatch with an enlarged imaging area and narrower straps.
This wristband invention, including each of these three designs, has been targeted principally to the application of short term patient use, such as in outpatient medical facilities, although it has been found to perform beyond expectations for even longer term use. And, hospitals have been anxious to employ it for as many applications as possible due to its many advantages over other designs presently being marketed by the competition, including its low cost, ease of use and surprising longevity. Nevertheless, there remain a number of applications for which this elegant design and convenient use wristband was not intended but for which the healthcare industry has long felt a need.
In continuing the efforts to improve on the assignees designs and inventions, the inventor herein has succeeded in designing and developing a wristband which enjoys many of the same advantages of the earlier wristband designs, such as their ability to be conveniently processed through a laser printer, and which also exhibits an extended life even in the harsh environment of a hospital patient experiencing an extended stay. While similar in overall design and use, there are patentable distinctions in its construction. Simply put, this design comprises a coated polyester top or imaging layer separated from a strong but softer, vinyl laminating layer by an insulating paper layer which not only adds structure to the page sized form blank in which the wristband is die cut, but also substantially prevents the two film layers from fusing together as the form is passed through a laser printer or other printer employing elevated temperatures. Two layers of adhesive and a release layer comprise the rest of the form construction so that after the wristband, which is die cut into the page sized form, is separated therefrom it may be conveniently assembled and then secured about the wearer's wrist. This design may be readily adapted to each of the foregoing three previously patented designs.
The advantages of this wristband invention are many. The use of a coated polyester film as the imaging layer provides greater strength, and chemical and moisture resistance over using paper as in the previous designs. Yet the paper layer is kept, thereby making the polyester film simply an extra layer to provide even greater strength merely by having a greater number of layers. With the greater strength, a thicker, softer and more stretchable vinyl material may be used for the laminating layer which provides the advantage of minimizing the opportunity for sharp creases or corners to be formed along the length of the first wristband design, and which maintains the advantages of a single layer strap in the other designs. This softer, more stretchable vinyl also exhibits a longer life in use as it conforms and adheres more closely to the other layers comprising the laminated imaging area, thereby sealing better about the imaging layer and virtually eliminating points of weakness for moisture to seep in and breech the integrity of the wristband. Wearer comfort is also improved for the same reasons. No sharp creases or corners to scratch or scrape. The uniform layer thickness across the extent of the business form blank and laser printer compatibility are maintained, thereby allowing this design to be used with the same computer/printer systems presently installed and used for processing the assignees previous wristband designs. And, this design allows materials having greater flexibility, strength, and toughness to be used, thereby allowing for a wristband which enjoys an extended life over previous wristband designs. Thus, a hospital can expand its usage of these simple, convenient, and relatively inexpensive wristbands to patients anticipating an extended stay, and with a diminished expectation of having to replace a wristband subjected to harsh or extended use.
While the principal advantages and features of the durable and long life wristband of the present invention have been briefly explained, a fuller understanding may be attained through a careful review of the drawing figures and reading of the description of the preferred embodiments which follow.